Respiratory Therapists who seek a high degree of autonomy - yet who also thrive in a team-oriented setting - will find the best of both worlds in the St. Joseph Hospital Respiratory Services Department.
Career ladder fosters long-term professional growth
Our Clinical Career Ladder is a career-mapping program that helps you advance strictly on merit, while also enabling you to change direction by expanding your skills. As a result, there's no need to leave to advance your career. And even though you may stay in one basic area, you can be exposed to other specialties, as well.
An excellent example of individual empowerment involves our ventilator management protocols. These enable Respiratory Therapists to manage the ventilator from the time patients are engaged until weaned, and allows them to make decisions based on blood gases and other testing without having to wait for physician orders.
At the same time, there's close collaboration with nurses and physicians, as reflected, for instance, in critical care. We have an intensivist physician who not only responds to changing conditions in critical care patients but also serves as a resource for issues regarding all patients, so Respiratory Therapists can provide better care more expeditiously.
Well-defined career ladder
Through strong preceptor and orientation programs, new grads are able to function with total independence after one year. From there, RCP IIs can work in any hospital area. After three years, those who demonstrate exceptional skills can become Technical Specialists. These individuals help evaluate new equipment, learn its use and then train others on it. They also participate with management in decision-making and serve as on-site experts.
Seeking professionals who are patient advocates
Ideal candidates place patient welfare above all else, communicate well with fellow team members and promote mutual respect. Requirements include graduation from an accredited, AMA-approved two-year respiratory care program, current CA Respiratory Care Practitioner license, current BLS, ACLS and PALS certification and one year of experience in an acute care setting, preferably in critical care or pediatric care.
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